The promotional posted being distributed by the re-branded Backshore Brewing Co. The Ocean City-based operation was founded as Shorebilly Brewing Co. A federal trademark lawsuit forced owner Danny Robinson to change the name. / Submitted image

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OCEAN CITY — Faced with a trademark infringement lawsuit that threatens to put him out of business, the owner of Ocean City-based Shorebilly Brewing Co. will be changing his company’s name to Backshore Brewing Co.

Even after brewery owner Danny Robinson tried to hold a contest to rename his brewing operation at 10th Street and the Boardwalk, receiving more than 1,000 possible ideas, he wasn’t able to use a single one because none were able to clear trademark hurdles.

“Until you go through it, you don’t realize how pretty much every word in the English language, somebody somewhere uses it for something,” he said. “Even my own name — I said, you know what? I’m just going to call it Robinson Brewing Company. And the lawyers are like, ‘no you’re not. There’s already one in existence.’ It was frustrating, to say the least. You couldn’t find a combination of words that wasn’t taken.”

Robinson arrived at “backshore” while researching nautical and geographical terms relating to the beach, and jumped on it when his own trademark attorney said it was free and clear of trademarks.

“It made sense. It means that stretch of beach, just past the tide line, where waves don’t hit until storms. It’s basically what we built the brewery on. I was like, this fits,” he said.

Robinson, 42, is being sued in federal court by a West Ocean City couple for using the term “Shorebilly” in violation of their 2011 trademark. The couple, Barbara and Marcus Rogerson, filed suit under their company name, Teal Bay Alliances LLC, alleging infringement and unfair competition.

Teal Bay registered the work mark “Shorebilly” in 2011, while Robinson’s Shorebilly trademark filing came in 2012, through his company, Southbound One Inc.

According to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records, Teal Bay planned to use the Shorebilly term for clothing, namely hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts and golf shirts. Southbound One applied for the name for use in a bar, nightclub, brew pub, brewery and restaurant services.

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The plaintiffs allege that sales of Shorebilly Brewing Co. merchandise, including T-shrits and stickers, was infringing on the Teal Bay trademark. Robinson said he has since ceased sales of all Shorebilly Brewing Co. merchandise, and will end up having to give it all away to charity, especially the apparel.

Robinson said the cost of the lawsuit has reached a certain point where, if it continues, “it will hands-down put me out of business.” He believes the case, at some point, will reach a courtroom.

“This just swiped the legs right out from under us, and now I’m into personal savings, which really hurts,” he said. “I don’t intend on (the brewery) making a profit for years down the road. There’s no cash reserves. This has just put a giant stake in the heart of my business growth.”

Samuel D. Littlepage, the attorney representing Teal Bay Alliances, said Robinson ignored two requests that he choose a new name for the brewery. The first request was sent before the brewery opened, and the second after that.

“This was something Danny Robinson could have done, and should have done, a year ago,” Littlepage said. “Had he done so, a lot of time, effort and expense could have been avoided by everyone. Simply put, he forced my client to file the lawsuit.”

Robinson also said he offered to settle out of court, but the Rogersons rejected the offer.

“A long time ago, I came to them,” he said. “I said, OK, I’m admitting no wrongdoing and I never will, but if I do, can we agree on X amount of dollars — even though this will kill me and I’ll have to take out a loan to pay this kind of money — can I just write a check right now, and you guys agree to this?”

Littlepage confirmed that his clients did reject Robinson’s offer, but only because it “was far less than the amount of the legal fees already incurred by my client.”

Robinson announced the new Backshore Brewing Co. on Jan. 24. He plans to launch a new flavor of beer at the resort’s annual bar trade show in March. In the spring, he plans to start distributing beer in kegs and possibly bottles. After this summer, he hopes to try selling his brews statewide. He only has a small brewing space at his Boardwalk location, so Robinson has contracted with Tall Tales Brewery in Parsonsburg to keep up with potential demand.

The name change has been in the works since November, when Robinson posted a notice to the brewery’s Facebook page that they would need ideas for a new identity.

“While it's difficult to back down from a fight when you know you're right, sometimes winning is not worth the price of victory,” Robinson wrote. “We want to put this behind us and focus our efforts on making great beer.”